She did not start. It seemed to her part of the dream in which
she was. Her hand went to her heart, however.
Again in Orlando's voice came the word "Louise," a little louder now. She
turned towards the tree, and there beside it stood Orlando.
For an instant there was a sense of unreality, of ghostliness, and then
she gave a little cry of pain and joy. As she ran towards him, with
sudden impulse, his arms spread out and he caught her to his breast.
His lips swept her hair. "Louise! Louise!" he whispered passionately. For
an instant they stood so, and then he gently pressed her away from him.
"I had to come," he said. "I want you to know that whatever happens, you
may depend on me. When you call, I will come. I must go now. For your
sake I must not stay. I had to see you, I had to tell you what I had
never told you."
"You've always told me," she murmured.
He stretched out his hand to clasp hers. He did not dare to open his arms
again. The lips which he had never kissed were very near, and ah, so
sweet! She must not come to him now.
One swift clasp of the hand, and then he vaulted over the fence and was
gone. A few moments afterwards she heard the rumble of his wagon on the
prairie--he had tied up his horses some distance from the house.
As the Young Doctor drove homeward with Patsy Kernaghan, he also heard
the rumble of the wagon not far in front of him.
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